Silverstone (Great Britain), Sunday 4 August 2013 – A typical British mixed weather welcomed the eni FIM Superbike Championship for Round 9 race day at Silverstone. A busy schedule gave fans plenty of spectacular action to watch and delivered unpredictable results, along with some of the most thrilling battles witnessed so far this year.
Rea wins race one in an all British podium in Silverstone opener – Jonathan Rea (Pata Honda World Superbike) won Race 1 of the eni FIM Superbike Championship at Silverstone in spectacular fashion. The Brit got back on the top step of the podium after more than a year, as his previous win dated back to 2012 (Donington Park Race 1). Rea pulled away from the chasing pack on lap 7, as the rain started to fall heavier on the track.
The race was reduced by one lap due to the delayed start and was characterised by intermittent conditions, that played a key factor and brought to constant and unpredictable position changes throughout the 17 laps. Eugene Laverty (Aprilia Racing Team) managed to get back in contention for the podium in the closing stages, to edge Leon Camier from second place during the final lap. Camier delivered his and FIXI Crescent Suzuki Team’s first podium of the season on his 27th birthday.
Sylvain Guintoli (Aprilia Racing Team), 4th at the flag, managed to extend his leadership in the points up to twelve points, as his main rival for the title Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) ended up 11th behind BMW Motorrad GoldBet duo of Marco Melandri and Chaz Davies. Guintoli was able to defend his position from fellow Frenchmen Loris Baz (Kawasaki Racing Team) and Jules Cluzel (FIXI Crescent Suzuki), both able to stay with the front runners and to battle for the podium.
Race 1
Results: 1. Rea (Honda) 17 Laps/100.334 km in 37’16.058 average 161.535 kph; 2. Laverty (Aprilia) 3.073; 3. Camier (Suzuki) 3.480; 4. Guintoli (Aprilia) 3.608; 5. Baz (Kawasaki) 4.140; 6. Cluzel (Suzuki) 5.659; 7. Haslam (Honda) 6.443; 8. Badovini (Ducati) 10.544; 9. Melandri (BMW) 14.017; 10. Davies (BMW) 14.167; 11. Sykes (Kawasaki) 14.180; 12. Neukirchner (Ducati) 26.536; 13. Checa (Ducati) 43.561; 14. Fabrizio (Aprilia) 46.373; 15. Aitchison (Kawasaki) 1’33.624; 16. Sandi (Kawasaki) 1 Lap; 17. Iannuzzo (BMW) 2 Laps; RT. Giugliano (Aprilia).
Baz takes epic Race 2 win at Silverstone
Silverstone (Great Britain), Sunday 4 August 2013 – Loris Baz (Kawasaki Racing Team) won an epic World Superbike Race 2 at Silverstone. The Frenchman was leading during the final lap when the red flag was waved, as the rain suddenly increased and two riders fell off at Stowe corner. One of the two involved was Jules Cluzel: but the FIXI Crescent Suzuki rider managed to rejoin and make it back to the pits, sealing a fantastic maiden podium finish as the results reverted back to the previous lap, when he was running second. Baz, on the other hand, was able to shine again on the English track, that saw him getting his first ever WSBK win one year ago (Race 1).
Eugene Laverty (Aprilia Racing Team) ended in third place, ahead of Jonathan Rea (Pata Honda World Superbike) and Leon Camier (FIXI Crescent Suzuki), who had his shot at the lead before losing several positions, during the incredible 7-way battle that characterised the second part of the race.
Sixth place Sylvain Guintoli (Apriila Racing Team), thanks to a sixth place finish ahead of Championship contender Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) keeps the lead in the standings with a 13 point gap over the Brit. Potential podium finisher Chaz Davies (BMW Motorrad GoldBet) had to retire from the race due to a technical problem on Lap 15, when he was in the mix up front.
Loris Baz: “In the first part of the race, even in the dry, I had good pace and I pushed at the front. I tried to control the pace from the front but there were some fast people behind me and it was difficult to go away. Every time somebody tried to pass me I passed them back and at the end the conditions were really wet and I nearly fell. I want to say thanks my team because they are making a really good job with this bike. Now I feel really comfortable. I also want to dedicate this victory to Andrea Antonelli’s family.”
Jonathan Rea: ” Race one was probably one of the sweetest victories of my career. I had to be smart and, as I saw the gap heading into the last few laps, I didn’t want to be throwing away that kind of lead. We made a good change for race two and got up to fourth after I got stuck behind Tom Sykes for a few laps. The race two result was OK but we can go into the summer break happy enough that we’ve got an overall package that can challenge for podiums.”
Race 2
Results: 1. Baz (Kawasaki) 16 Laps/94.432 km in 33’46.622 average 167.745 kph; 2. Cluzel (Suzuki) 0.609; 3. Laverty (Aprilia) 0.869; 4. Rea (Honda) 2.145; 5. Camier (Suzuki) 2.229; 6. Guintoli (Aprilia) 2.374; 7. Sykes (Kawasaki) 5.791; 8. Badovini (Ducati) 20.126; 9. Melandri (BMW) 20.209; 10. Checa (Ducati) 20.629; 11. Fabrizio (Aprilia) 20.769; 12. Neukirchner (Ducati) 21.407; 13. Sandi (Kawasaki) 45.015; 14. Aitchison (Kawasaki) 45.938; 15. Giugliano (Aprilia) 46.036; 16. Iannuzzo (BMW) 1’22.207; RT. Haslam (Honda) 19.944; RT. Davies (BMW).
Standings – provisional (round 9 of 15)*: 1. Guintoli 262; 2. Sykes 249; 3. Laverty 226; 4. Melandri 221; 5. Davies 180; 6. Baz 180; 7. Rea 176; 8. Fabrizio 138; 9. Camier 114; 10. Cluzel 113; 11. Giugliano 100; 12. Badovini 91; 13. Neukirchner 77; 14. Checa 68; 15. Haslam 51; etc. Manufacturers: 1. Aprilia 336; 2. Kawasaki 303; 3. BMW 276; 4. Honda 189; 5. Suzuki 165; 6. Ducati 128.
* Possible updated results could be defined by the International Disciplinary Court which is dealing with the appeal lodged by Aprilia Racing Team and rider Sylvain Guintoli, following the decision taken by the FIM Stewards in Monza (Italian Round, last 12 May) to cancel the drop of position sanction (from third to fourth place in race 2) imposed by the Race Direction on rider Tom Sykes
World Supersport
Sofuoglu wins over Lowes after thrilling finale
Kenan Sofuoglu (Mahi Racing Team India Kawasaki) took the victory in today’s World Supersport race at Silverstone, following what was a classic battle with Championship leader Sam Lowes (Yakhnich Motorsport Yamaha). Both pulled away from the rest of the field in the first part of the race, but it wasn’t until the last lap that the real fight for the win took place, as they swapped positions several
Race results: 1. Sofuoglu (Kawasaki) 16 Laps/94.432 km in 34’25.660 average 164.575 kph; 2. Lowes (Yamaha) 9.501; 3. Foret (Kawasaki) 12.165; 4. Coghlan (Kawasaki) 12.259; 5. Iddon (MV Agusta) 12.491; 6. Rolfo (MV Agusta) 12.590; 7. Kennedy (Honda) 13.625; 8. Marino (Kawasaki) 15.009; 9. Vd Mark (Honda) 21.399; 10. Leonov (Yamaha) 21.821; 11. Zanetti (Honda) 23.464; 12. Tamburini (Honda) 27.574; 13. Scassa (Kawasaki) 27.640; 14. Baldolini (Suzuki) 27.773; 15. Salom (Kawasaki) 28.238; etc.
Standings (round 9 of 14): 1. Lowes 160; 2. Sofuoglu 131; 3. Foret 101; 4. Vd Mark 80; 5. Zanetti 73; 6. Scassa 66; 7. Kennedy 56; 8. Antonelli 55; 9. Rolfo 50; 10. Leonov 48; 11. Marino 47; 12. Morais 36; 13. Coghlan 35; 14. Russo 28; 15. Iddon 25; etc. Manufacturers: 1. Kawasaki 180; 2. Yamaha 168; 3. Honda 113; 4. MV Agusta 57; 5. Suzuki 21; 6. Triumph 6.
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